Patna High Court
Suraj KumarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional bail subject to verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent.
Summary
The petitioner, Suraj Kumar, applied for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Criminal Procedure Code in connection with alleged offences under Sections 30(a) and 30(d) of the Excise Act for the alleged recovery of 420 litres of liquor. The petitioner argued that he was not arrested at the spot, that the liquor was not in his possession, and that the allegation stemmed from a local informant without proper investigation. The State opposed the bail, citing the petitioner’s antecedent of five criminal cases. The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail, directing the petitioner to furnish bail bonds of Rs.25,000 with two sureties, and ordered the trial court to verify the antecedent; if more than five cases are found, the bail would be cancelled, otherwise confirmed. The application was allowed subject to the conditions laid down under Section 438(2) Cr.P.C.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in an excise offence where the alleged contraband was not recovered from the accused’s possession.
- Whether the petitioner’s antecedent of five criminal cases precludes the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 438(2)
- Excise Act — s. 30(a), 30(d)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Excise Act
- Section 438 CrPC
- criminal antecedent
- liquor recovery
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.87530 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-221 Year-2025 Thana- MAKER District- Saran
======================================================
Suraj Kumar S/O Babu Nath Sahni R/O Village- Baligaon, P.S.- Parsa,
District- Saran at Chapra.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Avinash Kumar Pandey
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Kumar Ranjit Ranjan
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 20-01-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned APP for the State.
2. The petitioner seeks bail in anticipation of his
arrest in a case registered for the offences punishable under
Sections 30(a, 30(d) of the Excise Act.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
the petitioner has antecedent of five cases and allegation is of
recovery of 420 litres of liquor from a place near Murahi diyara.
4. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was
recovered from his conscious possession and even alleged
recovery is from a place, which does not belong to the petitioner
and is accessible to villagers at large and he came to be
implicated at the instance of local person, but then, it is
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.87530 of 2025(3) dt.20-01-2026
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submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case relating to
excise, the police starts implicating mechanically either at the
behest of Chaukidar, local person, secret information and
confessional statement in a mechanical manner without holding
a proper investigation.
5. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail
application.
6. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner, above-named, in the
event of his arrest or surrender before the learned Court below
within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on his furnishing bail-bonds in the
sum of Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand) with two
sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned
Trial Court where the case is pending/successor Court in
connection with Maker P. S. Case No.221 of 2025, subject to the
conditions laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C.
7. The application stands allowed.
8. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after
accepting the provisional bail bonds of the petitioner shall verify
the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is
found that petitioner has antecedent of more than five cases,
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.87530 of 2025(3) dt.20-01-2026
3/3
then it would be presumed that petitioner for the purposes of
obtaining anticipatory bail had concealed his antecedent before
this Court, in that event, the present provisional anticipatory bail
order shall not be confirmed, but if on verification, it is found
that petitioner has antecedent of five cases only, in that event,
the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed
forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
vikash/-
U T
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